The Guests on South Battery (Tradd Street #5)(60)
I didn’t need to be in the office until one o’clock, so I’d offered to help Jayne with the twins’ bath time. I had it on the children’s spreadsheet to be done at night before bedtime, but JJ had upended his bowl of oatmeal over his head at breakfast. It was just easier to keep them both on the same schedule whether Sarah also needed a bath or not.
I’d wanted an opportunity to speak with Jayne about going back to the Pinckney house. I was meeting Jack’s mother, Amelia, there at ten o’clock to look at some of the decorative items and furnishings to determine value. Whether Jayne sold the house or not, she’d have to make a choice about what to do with everything inside it. Neither Sophie nor I was willing to make those decisions for her.
“Jayne,” I started at the same time she said, “Melanie . . .”
“You first,” I said, happy to wait a little longer.
She sat down on the other glider with JJ on her lap and began drying him gently with the towel. His eyes closed halfway as she rubbed his scalp and dried behind his ears, JJ looking remarkably like Jack when I massaged his shoulders after a long day of writing.
“It’s not like I’m going to go or anything, but I just wanted to let you know so that if she asks why I’m not there, you’ll know what to say.”
I stared at her, blinking, trying to unravel her words to make sense of them, but couldn’t. “Excuse me?”
She moved down to JJ’s toes, making him arch his back and squeal with delight. Sarah frowned at him. “Sorry. When I’m nervous or uncomfortable, I tend to babble and not make sense.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
She glanced up at me with a small flush in her cheeks. “You’re talking about Detective Riley, aren’t you? We’re supposed to have dinner on Friday night, but I’m thinking about canceling. I mean, I’d probably choke on my own tongue.”
“He’s a police detective,” I pointed out. “I bet he knows the Heimlich maneuver.”
She grimaced. “Point taken. We were supposed to go to dinner after reviewing the inventory of the house after what we thought was the break-in, but I couldn’t stand the thought of going back inside, so I gave it to Sophie to check and then canceled dinner. But then he called and asked again, so I’m stuck.”
“And you wanted me to tell you what I think?”
“Oh, no,” she said, standing to take JJ to his changing table and expertly fastening a disposable diaper onto him. “I mean, I’d love your opinion if you’d like to give it, but that’s not what I was trying to say. It’s about that party.” She wrinkled her nose. “I got an invitation, too.”
I opened my eyes wide, her words suddenly sinking in. “The book launch? They invited you?”
“I know—weird, right? But don’t worry—I won’t go. You need me to stay here with the children anyway.”
I carried Sarah over to her changing table and pulled out a clean diaper, weighing my words. I had a good idea of why Rebecca had invited Jayne, but I would never say it out loud. “I do agree it’s odd, but please don’t decline unless you really don’t want to go. I’m sure I could get Jack’s parents or my parents or even Nola to babysit.”
“The invitation was addressed to me and a guest. I could ask Detective Riley. Assuming I went.”
I snapped the white onesie with more concentration than it required. “Really, Jayne, if you want to go, then go. And I’m sure Thomas would love to be your guest.” I bit my lower lip hard enough to make it bleed. My cousin was a meddler, loving to create drama and to irritate me. Or maybe that was just her personality and she couldn’t help it.
“Well, if you’re sure. I don’t have many chances to dress up, so it could be fun. But only if you can find a sitter. If you can’t, just tell me and I’ll stay home with the twins.” She hoisted a fully dressed JJ on her hip and he smiled at her. She looked at me while I was fumbling on my third attempt to snap the one hundred or so buttons on the front of Sarah’s one-piece outfit, just realizing now that I was nearing the end that I’d missed the third button and would need to start all over. Or leave it as it was and let people think she’d dressed herself.
“Why don’t we trade?” Jayne suggested.
I nodded with resignation and reached out for JJ, then switched places with Jayne. “We’d better let the expert handle this, I guess.”
“No,” said Jayne. “I’m not the expert. I’m the nanny and you’re the mother. I wouldn’t call either one of us an expert, but that’s not what we’re going for, is it?”
“I guess not,” I said with an unforced smile.
Jayne focused on refastening Sarah’s outfit while I watched her. I knew from Thomas’s background check that she was about ten years younger than I was, yet she seemed so much older. Or more mature, I thought. She was a great nanny, terrific with the children and dogs, Nola, and just about anybody we put in her path. Except maybe Thomas, but he didn’t count. She was kind, and funny, and—remembering her set-down of Rebecca at the lingerie shop—very astute and not the kind of person to be walked over. I liked her, I supposed. Really liked her, although it was hard to admit even to myself. I wondered if my own insecurities would ever stop interfering with my relationships.